NOEL TO YOU ALL!

Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

AGAINST THE ODDS

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was RAHAB, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was RUTH, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. Matthew 1:5-6

The Gospel of Matthew begins the life of Jesus with his geneology. It introduces Jesus backwards by way of showing us his lineage. And while some women are mentioned along with their husbands in his geneology,  two of them particularly stands out. RAHAB and RUTH. They are part of Our Lord’s earthly lineage not by accident, but AGAINST THE ODDS.

You see, both of them were foreigners; one a prostitute and the other, a widow. In the natural, where they were in life seemed prove enough of the future they were likely to face. Rahab must have already given up hope of ever finding a man who could love her for who she really was. She knew that she was no husband material. Ruth on the other hand, had clung to her mother-in-law, Naomi out of a deep loyalty as a way of honoring what she had with her son. No, another marriage was nowhere near her mind.

But AGAINST THE ODDS, the Lord brought opportunity in both their lives which needed a RADICAL OBEDIENCE. And although as foreigners God was as much removed from their everyday reality as can possibly be, when opportunity came knocking they both obeyed without a second thought.

Maybe that you today….God is asking you to do something AGAINST THE ODDS. There are no promises of a grand future….but that might just be what you might miss by not OBEYING. It might be someone in your lineage…they laid the foundation against the odds and now you are reaping the harvest. God wants you and I to look backwards and be thankful for those against the odds moments and He is also calling us to go ahead and do the right thing against the odds to give the future generation something to look back as Our Lord Jesus did and hence move forward with a grateful heart, against the odds.

 

 

 

 

MISSED THE FORECAST?

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13

I missed the weather forecast yesterday. Hence, I did my washing today only to be confronted by a heavy downpour. I mean….CATS & DOGS! To begin with, I hate tracking the weather forecast. My husband on the other hand is a vivid tracker… which is understandable. Having grown up in Africa myself where the weather is almost always predictable and without the disadvantage of the four seasons in a year, I didn’t quite appreciate the importance of the weatherman till I came to Europe.

Hang on, what I am trying to say here? As a child of God… I have another different kind of weatherman. Is he accurate in his prediction? Is he reliable to the letter? Long before Jesus walked on the face of this earth, God had spoken of him through the ages. His forecast of the coming of His ONE AND ONLY BELOVED SON came true 2000 years ago.

While my heart looks forward to the forecast of his soon return, sometimes I miss out on the signs written all over when my heart becomes preoccupied with my today. Like the 5 foolish virgins, I have enough supply for today, and I lack the wisdom to stock up for the long haul. I constantly miss the forecast.

May the Lord help you and I to keep watch…. because the BRIDEGROOM is surely coming and at an hour we expect him not!

 

 

AMAZING GRACE

Goodness me! Where do I start? It’s good to be alive….and I truly mean that. GOD has been GOOD… and I mean that as well. When my family set out into the unknown this past July, we never could have imagined what was in store for us. Yes…unknowingly, we had set…or rather God had set us up for the next IMPOSSIBLE mission yet to encounter in our lives. Hmm..meeting and marrying my husband was a challenge in itself…and yes, the IMPOSSIBLE then… become POSSIBLE…because of HIS AMAZING GRACE.

Then again…bringing my daughter to the point of birth…was yet another IMPOSSIBLE mission…but became POSSIBLE because of HIS AMAZING GRACE. Then come July…and then August…and what had seemed like a brilliant idea to pack up and leave behind family, friends…and yes, familiarity…becomes infused with deep frustration and ANGER when things didn’t seem to move on as quickly as we had anticipated.

BUT….let me stop there. My soul had to be born again. Yes…on 17 October, the anniversary of my 17th year in the Lord, which was also the first anniversary of this blog, I seat in church listening to the preacher say what I needed to hear. Yes…my heart needed to be REVIVED, RESTORED and REPLENISHED in a new and AMAZING way. Yes…HIS AMAZING GRACE has keep me and my family going…and I can now say…I am rising up again to walk the course He has set out for me.

God has been GOOD…and I mean that! And HIS GRACE has been AMAZING!!!

For all my blogging friends out there….I want to say thank you….for your prayers and love! And for all my readers…known and unknown…I will be back. God has been doing an AMAZING JOB…in my heart and I hope when I will get back on this page…it will show…as it did with Moses whenever He came down from the mountain of the Lord to face the children of Israel.

May the Grace of the Lord be with you, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit now and forevermore. AMEN!!!

THANK YOU ALL

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. Yes…my family arrived in the UK on the 7th July and we have been trying to settle in. Obviously, there is still alot to be done…before we can move on but God has been faithful. Walking this road is a SWEET/BITTER experience in itself…but just as a friend sent me an email last week….OUR FAITH ought and should always look away….but LOOK UP at the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our FAITH. And while our circumstances and life sitiuations are different in every sense of that word….WE SHARE THE SAME FAITH….the faith that stays FIXED ON JESUS. The faith that Peter had when he walked on water towards Jesus. The faith that Hannah had as she cried out in faith to the Lord for a baby, the faith that Paul and Silas had when locked up in the prison. I am tapping into that SAME FAITH… and I hope and pray you will take the same grace today and walk down with me…towards the END of the promise.

BY THE WAY….Sarah laughed at the beginning out of fear but in THE END, she laughed out of pleasure. Whatever your reason for laughter….GOD IS FAITHFUL.

PS NOTE: I am not yet back on the net full time. So do bear with me.

PRAY FOR MY FAMILY

Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be RICHLY REWARDED. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

I don’t know who will read this…but my friend…DON’T GIVE UP! SIMPLY DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL. Your reward is on the way. Just a little while longer….and you will be rewarded greatly!!!

As some of you might well know, my family and I are in a season of transition and we have been preparing to leave our country for sometime now. In just a little over a week, we will be finally saying goodbye and heading to our new home. Of course, we have this blessed hope and assurance that it will be well. And even much more than that. GOD HAS GONE BEFORE US….and He is OUR REAR GUARD. I am encouraged each day…and especially by the many blogging friends I have come to know through this blog. I thank God for each and every one of them. And I thank God for my readers….who I will not be able to communicate with through this blog for a while as my family settles into our new country and home.

I therefore humbly request that you keep my family in prayer because we need it. And may the Lord bless and keep you all…hoping to catch up with you….sometime later before the end of Summer.

YOU ARE ALL A BLESSING….and MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!

MEN & SUCCESS

Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds GREAT DELIGHT in his commands.

Every man on the face of the earth wants or desires to be successful. And while..its right to desire to be successful, there are only two ways to get there. SUCCESS can either by FEAR-DRIVEN or FAITH-DRIVEN.

FEAR-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

Blessed is the man who wakes up early and stays up late; the man who has a life insurance; the man who has savings for a rainy day; the man who exercises and eat health; the man who knows the rules of the game etc.

Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat_ for he grants sleep to those he loves.

But…something goes missing for this man….HIS HEART! No matter how sure or secure he is at his present or perceived future….HIS HEART IS ALWAYS FEARFUL. Why? Because he has no fear of the Lord in his heart.

On the other hand…the man who has the fear of the Lord in his heart walks securely. His present or future is sure…as he walks by faith.

FAITH-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

SOW YOUR SEED WELL

Ecclesiastes 11:6 SOW YOUR SEED in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

For those who read my blog regularly, you might be aware that I have complied a manuscript…which someday I hope to find a publisher and yes…my memoir will finally hit the bookshelves. But meanwhile as I wait and trust God for the opportunity to get published…I want to share and rejoice with one of my blogger friends, Elaine Olsen.

Although I don’t know Elaine personally, I met her through the blogging world sometime in December 2009 and my heart was hooked to her writing ever since. May I say, she has a passion for the Lord, her family…and yes, the written word. Every time, I visit her blog….PEACE FOR THE JOURNEY, my heart is always stirred by the passion in her words…words which cut through and bring at times relieve, at times a radical change of heart but at most, I feel her heart…and my own lost in the things and purpose of God for her life. She is a LISTENER...and God is speaking into her heart…and she in turn, writes it out for you and me, to help us along our journey towards our heavenly dwellings.

She has SOWN HER SEED WELL….and the Lord has made a way for her. A few weeks ago, she got her first book published and I truly recommend it for reading! The book title is;

PEACE FOR THE JOURNEY:in the pleasure of his company
~f elaine olsen~

For the details on how to purchase your copy, please click on the link above! SOW YOUR SEED WELL…God is faithful.

2 Corinthians 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

God bless you!

A TIME TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE!

Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday. It will be the 8th birthday we will be CELEBRATING together…as a couple and now, as a family. His birthday is made up of many fine and treasured memories of our times together. The Lord has been gracious…oh, yes…too gracious. Like David, I REMEMBER and in prayer I ask;

‘WHO AM I, LORD GOD, AND WHAT IS MY FAMILY, that You have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, O GOD, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. You have looked on me as though I was the most exalted of me, O God. 1 Chronicles 17:16-17

Our past….has been MEMORABLE
Our present...is PALATABLE
Our future…will be INCREDIBLE

I met my husband almost 8 years ago while he was a missionary brother in the Catholic congregation of the CONVENTUAL FRANCISCANS FRIARS...whose founder was ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI in the 12th Century. On that first birthday together, I gave him a little book with beautiful proverbs and sayings unaware that 8 years down the road…some of the words in that little book who come to pass…in ways unimaginable.

MY HEART IS SOBER

Psalm 131:1-2 My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I HAVE STILLED AND QUIETEN MY SOUL; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Let me say here. I DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHAT AWAITS ME TOMORROW….but that doesn’t bother me. You see, my family and I are in the process of preparing to move elsewhere. If anything, we ought to be up and tight trying to figure out how things will play out in the coming weeks and months. If anything, I ought to be pushing and shoving…and putting my agenda before God, asking that things should be as rosy and merry and yes, as smooth sailing as it would be possible. But no. The opposite has in fact, happened. Suddenly, even though I cannot tell why, I AM UNCONCERNED ABOUT THE DETAILS. I AM UNMOVED AT THE REPORT. Instead, MY HEART IS SOBER. I sleep like a baby; my day play out as if nothing is about to change in our lives; my family functions as normal as it has over the last five years.
And yes, my heart, OUR HEARTS ARE SOBER. We are steadfast because WE ARE ESTABLISHED IN HIM.